California

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Residents near the leak have complained of nausea, headaches and nosebleeds after a ruptured well began spewing gas as well as benzene and other air toxics in October 2015. It took nearly four months to seal the well, and residents have since filed hundreds of lawsuits against the company.

The lawsuit claims that the anesthesiologist wasn’t responding quickly enough, so the hospital started on the emergency procedure anyway. The woman passed out from the pain, and her baby was delivered successfully.

While poverty and inadequate access to health care explain part of the racial disparity in maternal deaths, research has shown that the quality of care at hospitals where black women deliver plays a significant role as well. Meanwhile, states looking to improve their maternal deaths rates might want to look at California as a model.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said a “Medicare-For-All” system would divert attention away from seniors, and warned that people would be giving up complete control of their care to the government. Verma gave the speech in California, where the issue is a hot-button topic in the gubernatorial election.

If approved, the proposed regulation could be a win for the coffee industry, which lost an 8-year-old lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court over a law that could require warnings be placed on all packaged coffee sold in the state.

The California Department of Public Health issued a standing order for naloxone in a move geared toward helping parts of the state where there are physician shortages and treatment facilities often struggle to find a doctor who will write a standing order for the medication. News on the crisis comes out of Kansas and Minnesota as well.

The ban is one of the strictest in the nation, and R.J. Reynolds poured millions into getting it overturned. The campaign to keep the ban spent about $2.3 million, with the lion’s share coming from former New York City mayor and billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg.

The race for California governor was narrowed down to Democrat Gavin Newsom and Republican John Cox. The outcome of the race could both shape the fate of the Affordable Care Act in the state and influence whether Republicans in Washington take another shot at dismantling the landmark law. “For the Affordable Care Act, California is a bellwether state,” said David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund.

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic lieutenant governor and a proponent of a single-payer health care system, won a spot in the general race for governor last night. He’ll face Republican businessman John Cox in the fall.

The decision followed a call from students, faculty and alumni for C. L. Max Nikias’ resignation after reports emerged that the university knew of allegations against campus gynecologist George Tyndall for years and failed to act on them.

California’s gubernatorial race is acting as a microcosm of the larger push toward universal health care. But, experts say the issue is complicated. “Voters are thinking about the fundamental values associated with single-payer,” said Kelly Hall, an independent health consultant. “Almost zero voters have thought about the policy implications.” Those implications range from funding challenges to a vocal opposition to unanswered legal questions.

There’s been a growing cry for President C.L. Max Nikias to step down after it was revealed USC had known for years about misconduct allegations against the campus’ longtime gynecologist. But, “trustees believe Max Nikias, given the right circumstances, is the right person to lead this institution,” one member said.

A judge recently overturned the legislation, saying it was passed illegally in a special session that was supposed to focus on specific health care issues. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra cited Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown’s statement from when he signed the bill into law as an example of how the measure fits into the scope of the special session.

More than 20,000 members of the University of California’s largest employee union are joined by the California Nurses Association, whose members work at UC’s medical centers and student health clinics, and the University Professional & Technical Employees, which includes pharmacists, clinical social workers, physical therapists, physician assistants and researchers.

Although the state on the whole isn’t as hard hit by the opioid epidemic, a rural slice in the north is struggling under the weight of dual crises. Media outlets report on news of the national drug epidemic out of Colorado, Arizona and Ohio, as well.